Alun Michael: I have today laid before Parliament the annual reports and accounts for 2004–05 for the eight regional development agencies (RDAs) outside London. Copies have been placed in the Library.
	The annual report and accounts for London are presented to the lord mayor rather Parliament. I shall provide a copy to the House of Commons Library when copies are available.
	The Government welcome the contribution that the RDAs have made during this year to driving forward economic development in their respective regions.
	Also published today are the RDAs' reported tier 3 outputs for 2004–05. These results are evidence that the RDAs continue to play a valuable role in improving the economic performance of the English regions and, through working with their partners, the RDAs are making a real difference to the individual regional economies concerned. The figures cover the creation and safeguarding of jobs, the amount of brownfield land brought back into use, the number of businesses added to the regional economies, the number of learning opportunities created and the amount of private sector investment attracted benefiting deprived areas, all as a result of RDA activity.
	Press releases on the tier 3 outputs have been issued in each region. Copies of the output results have been placed in the Library, and are also available on the DTI website at www.dti.gov.uk/rda/info.